


Christmas in Wales (By Uchuu Sento)

by ZabiHakuhei



Series: VTuber World [8]
Category: Original Work, Virtual Streamer Animated Characters
Genre: Alien Character(s), Alien Technology, Alien/Human Relationships, Angst and Humor, Cardiff, Other, United Kingdom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:21:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28214631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZabiHakuhei/pseuds/ZabiHakuhei
Summary: A small and bittersweet Christmas misadventure of an alien in the capital of Wales, which will surely not score high in the Bechdel Test.
Series: VTuber World [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1609138





	1. Intro

_“ When winter hits in the North Atlantic, the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales, is sprinkled with snow like sugar glass over a homemade cake, giving it an unrecognizable new-look even from the regular citizens who wander through the streets on the cloudy nights of December…_

How’s that for starters, do you like it?”

On the tranquil sun-setting, the two walked without a direction. An odd young-looking man of light gray skin color driving his military-style boots over an imaginary straight line on the snow, with blue jeans, and a black sweater over a long leather jacket with a fleece hat. Distanced with a wary attitude there was a Welsh woman following him, of long brown hair and wearing an all-black set of winter clothing; from her long-neck boots, jeans, a windbreaker over a long-sleeve cotton shirt, with a leather guitar case fixed in her back by a strap, too of black color. As the man walked in front of her, waiting for an answer while mocking a circus artist traversing the tightrope yet in plain land, she swirled her eyes at the swing of his arms stretched from left to right, taking another step of distance away from him by the second-hand embarrassment given from the rest of the pedestrians looking at him.

“First of all, why is that whenever a writer refers to snow they describe it as if they were sugar? Shouldn’t you try being more original? Why not describe it as _sand_? Second, why would anyone want to read a story about me? You should use your time and skills into something else, Sento.”

They turned left and crossed the block, out of a major maze of buildings. Quickly giving up on the circus mannerism, the man slightly turns half of his body to her, stopping on his tracks and looking at her, then at the gentle snowfall over their heads, kneeling on the floor and extending his right arm to hold a handful of snow and mince it between his fingers.

“To answer your first doubt, Alys, because sugar is _always_ an accurate comparison. You can’t describe snow as if it were sand; they represent two completely different things, to address sand as snow and vice versa would only confuse the reader… But just to be fair, the texture can _sometimes_ be similar, and both are so porous you may as well try to describe sand grains as sugar… Oh!”

His attention seemed to be constantly out of reach, as he violently stood up and ran towards the _Pierhead Clock_ on the corner of the street with a childish smile, bringing out a phone from the interior folds of his jacket and taking pictures of the gear mechanism. The woman continues distanced from him, observing him with the corner of her eyes, stopping at the streetlight and pressing on the stop signal for vehicles, even though there weren’t any of them.

“And the second is just simply because this day is worth to be written because you are worthy of it, it is worth a story, even a small one, this country, this city, this weather, all that happened through the day until this evening, how everything was crowded and stuffed in the morning but now, here at six of late is like a frozen ghost town, I’m enamored of my visit here, so much I’d like to write about it, do I need any other reason?”

But before Alys could formulate a comeback to the flustering reply he gave her, the drifting sounds of wheels slipping on the snow interrupted. They looked with silent disbelief to a passing blue Corolla 2017 drift with and without control, swinging from left and right trying to advance through the street stockpiled in white dust. The driver wearing a poker expression was meticulously switching gears to turn right and cross the street, both Alys and Sento exploding with mocking laughter at the misfortune of the man, yet they looked at each other for a brief second, holding on the dastard laughter to make signals to the man to stop the car, walk behind it and push it between the two for him to cross the street. Smeared on snow from the friction of the acceleration of the wheels and being abandoned with just a thankful wave of a hand, they looked at the other and laughed again, shaking like freshly washed dogs to dust the snow off their clothes.

“God…! My face is going to freeze! That’s what we get for being good Samaritans, let’s hurry up, my place is close!”

Alys said with a fake groan and whipping the snow off her face, taking the arm of the man and dragging him back to the sidewalk, this time walking beside him, still infected in laughter.

“Honestly now, if after that you still believe this place is worth a story then you’re just on the hype of being a tourist. That man didn’t even ask us where we’re going, with this cold front he didn’t invite us for a ride; this planet is this way, everyone is focused on their own things and constantly forget about to extend a hand to others, ah… I don’t know Sento, I don’t think the planet is worth saving.”

She nagged his intentions, she scolded them, yet she did it with a ticklish giggle between sentences, sighing with a smile, wrapping on his arm after a loud body trembling from the cold.

“You say that, but things like what that man did can be turned around, who knows? Maybe he’ll feel so guilty of leaving us behind and will try to compensate it by doing a gentle gesture to someone else in need.”

“Why _instead_ ? We are right here; we are that _someone else_ in need! We need the help now!”

“Yes indeed, but there’s no solution for it this time, think about it this way, today’s good deed may have put you back in Santa’s nice list.”

“And here we go again with the Santa talk, for an alien who came from space you’re quite stubborn, Santa isn’t real, a man who can send presents to all kids in the world in one night is impossible.”

“Well, I myself have seen quite impossible things since I came to this planet, so I wouldn’t give up on the idea of Santa so easily.”

“Just give it up dude… wait, impossible things like what?”

“Uhm well… Like making friends with half-human people and angels and demons and other aliens in here?”

“… Sounds like a load of bull you’re trying to pull right now, I have never seen any of that, where do they hide, and what do they do? It's the first time ever I hear someone spout stuff like that with such confidence.”

“Well, nowadays most of them are just online streamers, if you have never seen them in real life is because they spend a lot of time in their homes.”

“… _Now_ tell me that’s not bull what you’re saying right now.”


	2. I

_“I wish you a merry Christmas…_

_I wish you a merry Christmas…_

_I wish you a merry Christmas…_

_And a happy new year!”_

In front of the _Castle Arcade_ , the gray-skinned alien danced to the cliché melody without restrain, swinging his arms and legs with a childish smile, making the passerby distance and sometimes laugh at the image of the adult dancing in the middle of the street. 

In the half of December, things were just getting vividly crowded each morning more. The cold could reach the ten grades, yet you would see the Cardiffians on the city flow and spray around the streets, following the mood of the festivities, many were doing their Christmas shopping list be it food or gifts. The kids had recently finished the last period of school and taken on winter break, hence many of the little ones were wrapped to their parents by the arm or hands, excited by the vibrantly colorful light installations and other Christmas decorations on the windows and doors, trying their best to convince their parents for a trip to the _Winter Wonderland_ by the evening.

 _The Round Table_ had come to Cardiff in their annual job for the charity, but this year they appeared with a twist of change and spice of youth. The morning of a Thursday, Santa’s big sleigh was carrying a charming and young blonde Welsh woman with a one-piece Santa dress which barely covered her thighs regardless of the weather, leather boots, black gloves, and a Santa hat, cheerfully mesmerizing every citizen walking close by upgrading one of the most repeated songs of the month with her incredible falsetto. To the point, she had caught the attention of the alien who stopped midway of going inside the Arcade and began to copy the dance moves of the girl swinging her hips to bait on the big pound bills, but his mannerism was so high in tension, the blonde woman couldn’t continue singing, unable to ignore him any longer, she abruptly interrupted her notes and chuckled over the mike, turning to him.

“Do you perhaps want to come up here and join us?”

She humbly asked which sparked a burst of scandalous laughter in the crowd of people that was slowly building up around the sleigh. Sento, with a red face, quickly waved his hands and shook his head apologizing, bowed a couple of times, and ran away from the multiple staring eyes inside the Arcade. But even in the small shops at the entrance had people who had noticed the scene he did, and both costumers and attendees looked at him with a mocking expression. Growing redder, the man had to walk deeper into the hall of Victorian-style architecture melding with the modern times of shops and stores, almost at the other extreme near the exit, and seclude from the curious stares inside of a café.

Welcomed by a waitress he ordered a black coffee and took off his jacket and fleece hat, folding them together and letting them rest over the table. He gazed at the asymmetrical and mixed furniture of the store with delight, like a very small _T.G.I Friday’s_ but classy. The coffee was served together with a little piece of a chocolate block over the bill, when the waitress was about to turn and walk back to the cashier, he holds her back by grabbing the corner of her left sleeve. 

“Excuse me miss, do you know where could I buy Christmas crackers?”

The question made the lady frown with a small, condescending smile.

“Souvenirs for your children?”

She questions back with a doubtful swing of the head, to which made the alien fluster with shyness.

“Y-yes! I’d like to buy some for my kids, but I’m afraid I haven’t found a shop or store that sells them, they seem to be scarce…”

The waitress turned back with fixed lips and a long – Mhmmm – Probably trying to search in her memories for the information she needed, but after a brief second of meditation, she could only express a shake of head.

“Last time I pulled a Christmas cracker I was like… eleven perhaps? Gosh, the excitement for that kind of thing wears off fast, I’m sorry; truth to be told I haven’t seen a single shop sell something like that this year.”

“I see, well that’s truly a shame I really wanted to try… erhm, try getting some of them for my kids.”

“I’m sorry I can’t be of much help… Oh! But you can keep searching, I just remembered my little cousin got one by the teachers at school to celebrate the end of the semester, so there _has_ to be a store around the city that still sells them, don’t give up yet ok?”

“Thank you miss and thank you for the coffee.”

He proceeded to calmly drink on the bitter and hot drink, still examining with detail every corner of the furniture and its design. Yet his attention for the uncanny interior would be put onto hold when the suffocated noises of guitar strings caught on his interest, he turned left and right, but the other couples of costumers inside the store along with the alien weren’t responsible for it, they weren’t playing any instrument nor they were listening to music through headphones. Finishing the coffee, he stood and grabbed his belongings, brought his wallet from the back of his pants, picked on the chocolate and placed it on his mouth, then replaced it with the money in exchange. He walked to the cashier to gently wave goodbye to the barista and the waitress, then the guitar strings once again resonated within his ears, he stared at them with curiosity, but they weren’t responsible for the sound either.

“Someone is playing the guitar around here it seems…?”

He asked pretending to have a vague interest in it, to which the people from the other side of the cashier replied with a swirl of their eyes and a tired snort. Confused, but feeling he shouldn’t insist on asking, Sento walked out of the store, washed-up of mood and shame, then the guitar sounds increased in clearance and volume, the culprit was at the exit of the Arcade, playing in intervals of softness and violence, his interest grew further and his legs moved by pure instinct out of the place.

_“Why am I always hit on the boys I never like…_

_I can always see ‘em coming, from the left from the right…_

_I don’t want to be a priss, I’m just try’na be polite…_

_But it always seems to bite me in the…”_

“… Is that a song requested by people to play on Christmas?”

Peeking the other side he was approaching a Welsh woman singing on the street with a pissed-off expression. She had the guitar case split open at her feet, with just a bill of ten pounds and a handful of coins, the alien just intervened in what looked like venting. Making a little skip due to the impression of someone suddenly talking to her, the woman of brown hair groaned and hold on to the strings all together with the palm of her hand, clearing her throat and looking for composure after the little-sized heart attack he gave her.

“I’m just singing what I like.” She replied with contempt, coughing a bit, and fixing her hair with the right.

“Uhm I see, but maybe it's because of that you’re getting so little tips, hadn’t you considered it?” Sento questions her actions looking down at the guitar case, the woman just huffs, playing with the strap of the guitar over her shoulder.

“So what? I still got a few people to like what I sing, didn’t I? If that weren’t true this case would be plain empty.” She claims giving it a little kick with her boot, then looked back at the alien with anger, “And just who do you think you are? Nobody asked for your opinion.”

“Oh please don’t take me wrong, I didn’t come all the way here just to be an annoying random pedestrian.” He said with an awkward chuckle, raising both hands in a signal of pace and forcing smile, the woman didn’t move or stutter to his gestures, and in the silence left between the two, he coughed and moved his hands inside and behind his jacket, looking for the pockets on the backside of his pants, “You see is the contrary, I just came here because your melody caught my interest, and your singing is to be envied, but if you’re trying to earn your day, sometimes you have to make sacrifices you know? Like singing Christmas Carols for the people, why don’t you get in the mood of the end of the year with everyone else?” And he then pulled a 50-pound bill from his wallet, kneeled, and put it inside the case.

“Are… you for real now?” She stuttered in disbelief, staring with wide-open eyes to the smile of Isabel II, “Did you hear what I was singing right now? Because if you are trying to hit on me…”

Sento snorted instantly from the implication, but rather than calm down the woman, he made her explode in red, “Not at all don’t worry about it! Isn’t it part of the festivities to leave a big tip behind? I’m just being part of the social traditions and like I said before, I liked both your song and your singing, and I wanted to show my appreciation… or maybe do you want me to pick it back?”

“No!” She shouted agitated when the man flexed his knees, bright in red, she gazed to the corner of the street, no longer able to see him directly, “That’s… thanks; today hasn’t been so great… Maybe I should do like you say and sing some Christmas Carols…” The woman sighed in disappointment and slowly calmed down, her shoulders loosening up from the tension, she tried to look at him with the corner of her eyes, inspecting his looks and odd skin color, “Your accent is good… but you aren’t from here, right? Are you American?”

“Oh God forbid it no,” Sento answered right away with his left hand slapping the air, his quick reaction making the woman giggle and turn her face back to him, “But yes I’m a tourist, I like to visit snowy places on winter, so I thought of traveling around England this year-'round.”

“Yup, you’re a tourist alright, this isn’t England you idiot, you got in the wrong country,” She gave him an unapologetic explanation, dry and harsh, “This is the problem with tourists; they think that everything in the United Kingdom is England…”

“… Is it not?”

“Wales, w-a-l-e-s, you’re in an entirely different country, the Big Ben isn’t here, not the London Bridge, if you hurry up you can be there by tomorrow.”

“Well, erm, I appreciate the clarification but, regardless of being a different country… I meant to come to Wales first.”

“Why so? This would be the first time I hear a tourist say something like that, are you perhaps some kind of hipster? Are you visiting us first for the irony?”

“No, no! God nothing like that… I’m just, not fond of crowded places, well Cardiff is stuffed as it is, but, I still can handle this much, I feel I would go insane if I had gone to London first so I thought to practice with a smaller handful of humans.”

“… _Humans_ you say?”

“Ah… A slip of tongue, forgive me, is old manners.”

“No, no, you did say _humans_ right now, like, in the third person, and now that I think about it, you have quite a weird skin color, you definitely aren’t an American, where did you say you come from again? Egypt? Vietnam?”

“Yes.”

“…”

“That aside miss, can I ask you something? You see I’m looking for a store in Cardiff but I can’t find it anywhere.”

“First things first, don’t call me _miss_ , how old can you be?”

“Around 200 years old… ah.”

“Ah…”

“…”

“… Anyway, my name is Alys, like _Alice_ , but with a _‘y’_ instead of _‘i’,_ and _‘s’_ instead of _‘c’_ and _‘e’_.”

“I see, that’s a Welsh name isn’t it?”

“Right, so? What’s your name?”

“Sento, it’s a Japanese name, although I’m not from Japan, is written with the kanji particles of _‘battlefield’_ and _‘rabbit’_ , then you read them together as _Sento_.” 

“Huh, our parents didn’t have a naming sense did they?”

“Seems they didn’t alright.”

They shared a little giggle and stared at the other for a silent and uncomfortable half of a minute.

“Ok, let’s try this again… Good morning Alys, is freezing cold today right?”

“My bones are chilling.”

“Right? So I thought you could help me today, I’m looking for a store that sells Christmas crackers… for my children.”

“You stuttered at the last part, but you’re a tourist you know? No need to be ashamed of wanting to try local stuff, let me see…” 

She meditated on his request gazing to the left of the avenue. Contrary to the waitress at the café, she was deep on thought, with a comical lip expression and her right hand holding on her chin, rubbing an invisible beard.

“Maybe in the _Central Market_ you’ll be able to find what you want is at the north of the St. Mary Street, not so far from here, or at least not in a car, you’ll have to walk a little, but there’s a bit of everything there, you should be able to find Christmas crackers there.”

“Why thank you, Alys, you even gave me a direction; that sure helps.”

“Well… I have to make that Isabel be worth it.”

“Your music alone was enough for it, don’t talk like that about your own worth, all alone in this cold, where did go the confidence from the woman who was playing whatever she wanted just a second ago?”

“What can I say; even the cold can freeze my guts.”

They shared another peal of laughter, unable to shake away the awkward silence; both make a nod of the head and fake a smile for Sento to start walking his way to the other avenue. But his fleeing didn’t last even twenty steps, holding on the streetlight waiting for the moment to cross, they pretended to don’t see the other, and Alys, after picking up the Isabel and shove it inside the pocket of her jeans, slowly went back to play her guitar.

“Someone…!”

When the streetlight finally switched to green, the screams of a woman echoed from the inside of _Castle Arcade_.

“Someone stop him! Stop that muggler!”

The woman screamed again, Sento turned with confusion of the yelling. Jumping out from the exit of the Arcade, a man was galloping like a berserker horse with a mock-plastic cauldron stuffed with pounds tightly embraced on his arms, followed behind by the blonde woman in the Santa dress and a police officer who couldn’t match his speed.

“Stop him…! The charity money… stop him!”

He turned left, towards the direction of Alys and the alien, but when the man passed through the girl, she just took a step back, resting her back against the wall and allowing him to pass through. Sento was speechless of her reaction, as well as her lack of one, her face hadn’t a single trace of emotion, she just let the muggler pass by. It all happened in a fraction of seconds, and every emotion was being displayed at a slow speed from the abrupt situation, yet, without removing his eyes off Alys, when the man ran through Sento’s side, he swiftly took the hood of his jacket and pulled it down as he ran, making the muggler flip on the air as if he had slipped on a banana peel, then crash on the cold pavement with his back. The cauldron dropping off his hands and spilling the money everywhere, both Sento and the blonde woman hurried to fish the money being scattered around, while the police officer had leaped over the body of the man, immobilizing him to search for a plastic lace on his back and restrain his hands.

“My God… My God! Thank you! I thought he was going to get away!”

With an exasperated and out of breath voice she thanked him, squatting around the floor to collect the money and put it back in the cauldron, pulling down the skirt of the dress in a mix of embarrassment and exhaustion.

“Worry not, although I think I went too far on the poor guy…”

“Poor guy my ass, you should have punched him! Hey… wait a minute, you’re the dancing dude!”

She fixed the hair on her face behind her ears with both hands, uselessly pacing her breathing as her body was suddenly invaded with laughter. Standing up and nervously fixing the cleavage and skirt of her dress, pulling a bright smile from ear to ear to him, a truthful smile.

“And to think I was making fun of you just a while ago… Sorry for that, and thank you, this money belongs to the charity organized by _The Round Table_ , today you have secured meals and warm beds for many children!”

_“Hah!”_

Alys huffed with sarcasm from the other extreme after hearing the cheerful explanation, both Sento and the woman looked back at her with a frown, but Alys remained with an expressionless face. They finished picking up all the money and put it back inside the cauldron, as the police officer shared a couple of words with the Santa girl, a car patrol reached the scene and between him and other officer forced the muggler inside the back seat, went inside the car, and talked one more time with the woman before leaving the place.

“Ah, that ruined the day…” She sighed with a heavy heart, finally calmed down, then after looking at Sento up and down a couple of times, her mood changing into condescension. “Well, thank you again for the help… is there something I can do for you in exchange, maybe the direction of a salon to get a better tan?”

“Oh my gosh no, I’m turning gray because the sun exactly, if I do that I would just turn grayer,” Sento answered right away with worry on his tone, not he only didn’t understand the jokey comment, he was following on it, “It will be fine the next days when it cloudy for real, that’s when I’ll be back to usual skin color.”

“I see… I was just teasing again, but it seems you have quite the complex about it… Anyhow, if there’s anything I can do for you…” She pushes a couple of fingers inside her hat and pulled a small rectangular piece of paper, handing it to him, “Just text that number, is my personal phone, you’re a tourist right? I was born in Wales, so I may be able to give good visiting tips.”

“Thank you, miss! My, Cardiffians sure are nice people aren’t they?” Sento giggled when taking the paper and saving it inside his wallet.

“… Nice people, you say, did you already forget the man you slammed on the floor?” The woman stutters due to his comment and smile, then turned to look at Alys in the corner, “Or did you also forget Alys and her helpful aid?”

“Oh, so you know her?” He turns his face in confusion then looks back to the Santa girl, “That’s all past now, all forgotten, couldn’t care less, the actions and people worth reminding are those who demonstrate care for others.”

The blonde woman stuttered again, taking a step back and slightly blushing, “I see… You’re a funny guy, the world needs more positive people like you,” She laughed in relief, made a silent wave of the hand, and started to walk her way back to the other extreme of the Arcade. Not without stopping in front of Alys first and scream to her, “Just how cold can you be?!” Then continue her march to the other way. 

“They don’t make them like her on my planet…” Sento mutter with a serious face looking at the rear of the blonde woman as she leaves then tilts his head to Alys, still amazed at how she kept with a poker face the entire time, unable to word anything useful for that situation, he slowly shrugged and started to walk in direction towards _St. Mary Street._

Tying his jacket firmly, the anxiety of the alien started to show as he had warned from before, at the turmoil of people going in and out of the market. Holding on his hat like a soldier walking through a trench in times of war, he dodged men, women, and children as his life would depend on it, smoothly like a running-back going through the sixty yards. Looking left and right in the set of shops and mini-stores, just at the beginning of noon he had finally found what he spends all day looking for inside of a store which sells gift bags and wrapper decorations deep on the maze, piled like a set of the pencil there they were for his eyes’ delight, a large round of Christmas crackers.

“Ah, you have _no_ idea how much I’ve been looking for these, I’ll take four of them, how much it’ll be? I’ll have to thank Alys after this,” Sento said to the old lady in the cashier while thinking out loud, the woman laughed to the exciting pace of his voice while registering the price with a pocket lector scanner, and when he mentioned the name of the other woman, the cashier frowned.

“Excuse me, Sir, when you refer to _Alys_ … do you perhaps, _maybe_ mean, the girl who has been playing the guitar for tips around Cardiff?”

“Oh, it seems everybody knows her, yes it was her who told me this could be the place where I could find the crackers, why you ask?”

“You see… Uhm, but you’re a tourist, it may be not worth your interest…”

“Why, did she do something bad?”

“Uhm is not like she did something bad, but she didn’t something good either. Sir, do you know about _The Round Table_ and what they do?”

“Erhm if I’m not wrong, aren’t them some kind of beneficence?”

“Yes something like that, and this year around, they wanted to change the usual Christmas carol to collect the money by turning it into a contest for artists of each town. The point was to have the most popular local singers to lead the charities, and Alys was invited with another charming lady to be part of all of that, and did you know? They would later appear on TV! Imagine that, from a local artist to a national star by just doing charity!”

“That sounds amazing!”

“And that Alys girl, rejected the offer.”

“Oh…”

“Apparently that awful woman mouth trashed the contest and said it was rigged so she wouldn’t participate in it, on top of everything she started going around Cardiff to collect money, on her own and for her own! Would you believe such a person like her exists?”

“That does seem like a reason for everyone in the city to know her name…”

“I just don’t understand the youth of this generation anymore, do you have any idea why she would do something like that?”

“Not the sightless…”

“I honestly can’t understand, the money of the collection would go to the orphans in need, so you would think the woman who was too an orphan in the past will collaborate without a doubt and yet…”

“Miss… is not like I don’t find the conversation interesting but, you still haven’t told me how much is for the four crackers.”

“Oh my, oh my I’m so sorry! I put you in the middle of our city’s gossip for no reason, it’ll 12 pounds my dear, but I’ll leave it at 10 for the listening to this old lady gossips’.”

“Why thank you, it seems wherever I go today I just end being helped by beautiful Cardiffian ladies.”

“Oh my, what a silver tongue you have!”


	3. II

_ “The Arcades of Cardiff are like pocket worlds inside the Capital, a step inside any of them is always a drastic transition from the lousy streets to the secluded shops and stores. Entering inside of High Street Castle Quarter is meeting the clear example of a different world, like lives who are constantly at the border to merge with each other, the spirit of the city and the spirit of the market, yet they both follow different tempos and don’t interrupt the other. The maze of stores provides a soundproof environment, and the crystal ceiling makes you feel as if the day had fast forward three hours past the clock. Everything operates at their calm, the machines, the people, the ants, the flies, the pigeons; everything participates with a distinct pace. Inside the dark wood panels giving sophistication, the mock gas lamps and the granite floor attempting to revive the best times of the best old times, you can lose the notion of your life outside this pocket world, and for a brief moment, be part of something else… _

I’m practicing a description of the Arcades for an idea I want to work with, what do you think?”

“I don’t know where to start, honestly…”

In the middle of noon, Alys had pounced once again with the alien, sitting in one of the vintage chairs in the outside of  _ Coffee Barker.  _ His table was surrounded with a variety of little cuts of different cheese, a big slice of cake, and a coffee. Sento, elegantly holding in the silver fork and knife, abruptly and suddenly called on her attention by narrating a description of  _ Castle Quarter _ without any kind of warning. The woman was boiling red, as the young man just spouts a long speech in front of her and the many other people passing by, taking a long breath understanding the man wouldn’t care less about the situation.

“The first word which comes to my mind is  _ bourgeoisie _ , and the paints of cartoony old fat kings stuffing their mouths in their castle’s dining hall,” She said pointing to the table of cheese with the pinky and a frown, “But if you’re trying to impress Welsh old people by doing some kind of poem, you should wait until Monday and go to any plaza, they’ll gladly hear you, heck, they may ever praise you for being such a fervent tourist.”

“Heh, I did buy too much didn’t I…” Sento expresses with a concerning sigh, looking at the overloaded table, “I’m leaving in some days, so I thought if I tried ten types of cheese a day, I would have tried all Welsh cheeses before my leaving… but is turning out to be a harder task than to what I first expected,” He paused and put the silverware over the plate of the cake, cleaned his mouth and hands with a handkerchief then gestured to Alys, “Hi there Alys, how is the day going, did you get any other tip, if you don’t have anything else to do, would you join me for an improvised brunch? I’m definitely not going to be able to eat this all by myself.”

The woman replied at first with an exhausted sigh, silently looking directly to his face, holding on the strap of the guitar case in her back with doubt, “… I thought you were on the other side, did you find your Christmas crackers?” Alys wonders taking a couple of steps, taking off the case, and sitting beside him. Sento smiled at her and handed her an unused fork, the woman first fixed her long brown hair behind her head with the tips of her fingers; then took the silverware, “And about your question, yes and no, not really, I have been swamped, the first 3 minutes I started to sing Christmas Carols, a couple of people dropped ten pounds, and it was so annoying nothing like that happened while I was singing what I wanted, I got frustrated and picked up my things.”

Sento giggled at her explanation, then swung a little gift bag which was resting on a chair at the other side, “I got plenty, thank you for the help, and sorry to hear that, but you know? That means people liked your music, even if you had submitted to the holiday's expectations,” He cheerfully pointed at the long variety of cheese spread over the table, “Go, go, pick whichever you want, don’t be afraid of finishing what I couldn’t.”

“If you wish…” Alys sighed again, examining the table, taking on a blue-ish plastic-wrapped cheese, breaking the envelope, and slicing it with the fork over her hand to take a bite, immediately closing her eyes and gasping in delight, “So good… They say the smellier the cheese the better, and I wish they were wrong but is the truth,  _ Per Las _ cheese is just so good, but even in this country, liking cheese is just an acquired taste, I remember hating this specific one when I was a child, it was so smelly.”

She took another bite, to which Sento took the chance to take a small slice of cake and offer it for her, she opened her mouth reluctantly, and masticated it all together with the cheese, “Is that so? You have quite an interesting background, even the people in the city seem to know everything about you; did you really reject the offer for  _ The Round Table _ ?”

“God, every Cardiffian here… the only times they care about someone else’s business is just to obtain gossip material… Yes, I did reject the offer, well, it wasn’t an offer, it was an invitation to be part of a singing contest to later appear on TV, and who knows, maybe even play in the  _ Armadillo _ , but the contest has been rigged, and I don’t want to be part of that.”

“How are you so sure the contest is rigged? Oh, I didn’t buy  _ Dragon Breath _ cheese! Argh, and I was so looking forward to it, hey, is it really made with the breath of a dragon?”

“What are you, five years old? And can you try making one question at a time? Of course, is not made with the breath of a dragon, is just spiced cheese, and I know the contest is rigged… because my stepfather rigged it, no matter what would have been my performance, he secured it in a way I would have a chance to appear on TV regardless of what happened.”

“Eh, dragons don’t exist? I’m pretty sure they do.”

“Really, that’s the first question you want to make?”

“Well I’m more intrigued in the cheese right now, but is clear your father-“

“Stepfather…”

“… Is clear your stepfather is some business guy, there isn’t much mystery in it, the cheese made by dragons on the other hand…”

“Dragons don’t exist.”

“I beg to differ.”

“Even if they were real, this cheese isn’t made by them; you’re so childish, now you’re going to tell me you’re waiting for Santa Claus to leave your presents under your socks.”

“… He won’t?”

“… I’ve been thinking this for a while, but you aren’t even human, are you?”

“Erhm, well…”

“Figures… is ‘kay, not like anyone would believe me anyway, and I don’t really care… are you an alien?”

“That was the fastest contradiction I’ve ever witnessed… I am.”

“I see… let’s pretend I’m totally convinced, why you came to our planet?”

“Earth is under my jurisdiction right now, I’m something like a mix of a bureaucrat and prosecutor from a place who regulates life in the universe. I can’t say much, but the people on this planet may be exterminated because the place I work for has decided Earthlings are no longer worth protecting, I’m here on a mission to make that doesn’t happen.”

“…”

“What, you don’t believe me?”

“I don’t, I even regret having asked, for starters, in which part is eating cheese until your stomach breaks fit in your mission?”

“Oh, you know what they say; you can’t fight with an empty stomach!”

“Sure…”

“I’m just messing with you, to be honest, there’s a lot to do and is turning out to be too difficult to do on my own, so I’m taking a day at a time, we have plenty of time, and I always wanted to visit Earth, I’ve written so much about this planet, but this is the first time I get to visit it!”

“Are you a writer? Where can I buy your books?”

“Oh, I’m afraid they’re not available on this planet, my Editorial is located elsewhere.”

“What’s the point of writing books about Earthlings if you can’t sell it to us? That’s frigging hilarious, what kind of books do you even write?”

“You see, I write books of romance and drama, out there in space, advanced species love these kinds of books, emotions like anger, jealousy, happiness, hate, joy, lust, they’re all so primitive and many of us have forgotten what is like to have those kinds of feelings, my books sell well among aliens who want to know, or want to remember what is to feel like that.”

“Now that’s a convincing argument, if you had started with something like that, believing you’re an alien wouldn’t be so hard.”

“Hahaha… c’mon now, eat, eat! There’s still so many, can I also invite you a cup of coffee?”

“Oh please you’re just spoiling me now, let me at least pay for my coffee.”

“Very well.”

“But you know, mister alien who came from space to save this world? I think you’re losing your time, this planet isn’t worth saving.”

“… What do you mean?”

“Maybe because you have been spending your time visiting fancy places and eating all delicious things you can’t see it, well, I can’t blame you, you’re a tourist on our planet, of course, you want to do all fancy things right? But I was an orphan; I have experienced this world from a very different perspective. Being left in a foster house after my parents died since little, starving daily because the foster house couldn’t feed so many kids, being spied in the shower by boys way older than me, being verbally and physically abused by adults, and constantly being rejected from adoption interviews because Joe and Jane wanted a younger kid while I just kept getting older. And just like me it was the same for many other orphans, and continues being the same, no matter how much money  _ The Round Table _ manages to reunite, is never enough, and that is just a little piece of hell, my own experience of this world, there are wars in this planet, sickness, hunger, people hate and kill each other because of things like their skin color and gender. Maybe in your books, there’s anything of the sort, and you probably haven’t had time in your never-ending vacations to notice all these things I’m talking about, but this is the reality of this world, and it isn’t worth saving, this planet may as well be destroyed by a huge bomb, leave everything be smattered into pieces.”

“… First things first, I’d like to apologize; it seems you have a very frivolous point of view about me. Is not like I’m ignoring all those things, you know? I learned about all those bad things first head in when trying to know more about Earth, of all cruelty and more humans are capable to do, it was honestly a barfing amount of information, we read that kind of things from textbooks, but for advanced species is often a shock to hear these kinds of things continue happening in some planets, is honestly, revolting. Even though all that, which are facts, definitely, your reality, your experience, is something that probably continues to happen to many other orphan girls around the country, and around the world, even though all those bad events, bad experiences, those scars and wounds, and those unbearable feelings are a reality, even if it feels all of it are what domain this world, it doesn’t. Is not a way of mine to invalidate, what I try to mean by saying is, the Earth and Earthlings are definitely, much more than the total of all their mistakes and wrongdoings, this planet is worth saving because your kind deserves as much time as needed, and as many chances as required, to walk forward to the right path, no need for a bomb, bombs are awful, why would you bomb your own planet? What an awful thing to say.”

“Why? It’s just an expression.”

“It’s an awful expression, have you ever thought about it? When people imply someone should just get shot, or that a group of people, just like you mentioned, should be blown away, I’d like you to put a little more thought into it. Can you visualize it happening? A cylinder taller than the height of this Arcade, and as thick as the pillars of the  _ National Assembly _ , flying in the middle of the sky, distorting air and sound with its powerful whistling sound, even before it lands and reaches the ground, people already lose hope, and then when it does, when it explodes into a mechanical seized combustion of nuclear materials, the shockwaves alone are enough to shake the earth, to make buildings crumble, to tear off your skin, break bones and hammer your internal organs, after losing your hope, you’ll also lose your will, and even still, you’re most likely to be alive, alive enough to watch with your own eyes that incandescent orb of energy, fire, and light, disintegrating all life which comes through, kids, mothers, parents, cats, puppies, everything burning from meat to ashes in a matter of seconds, painful seconds which will feel like hours-“

“Ok, OK, that’s enough narrative description, I get it, ok? It’s an awful expression… Jesus almighty, I didn’t think you could be like that, I get it, I won’t say something like that again… Let’s change the subject, or I won’t be able to eat any more cheese.”

“Of course! Let’s see… ah, before all of this, we were talking about Christmas Carols, you fa-… your stepfather rigging a contest, and Santa Claus.”

“Pfft… You won’t let go of the last one, will you?”

“Of course not, I’ve been looking for that fatso plenty the time now, I haven’t seen him yet, but I know he’s out there.”

“How can a man who will describe a nuclear bomb explosion believe in something so childish, I can’t understand it.”

“Well, would you like to touch again the theme of the contest instead? From what you say, if your stepdad was the one who did it, doesn’t mean he wants you to win and appear on TV? Isn’t that nice?”

“Do I look like the kind of woman who likes to have everything served over a silver plate for you? That’s Sara, not me.”

“Sara?”

“Ah, the woman you saw early this morning wearing that indecent Santa dress.”

“Oh yes, what a beautiful dress.”

“… Men are men even if they come from space aren’t they?”

“Sorry there, so then Sara knows the contest is rigged too and is still participating?”

“Yeah, the idiot knows whatever she does; my stepdad will find her a chance to appear on TV, yet she is still taking part in that scam.”

“Is it really something that bad; that your stepfather wants to secure your chance to become someone big? Even if Sara is aware of this, she’s giving her all out there, you should have seen her, dancing and singing, even in this cold, even with that short dress, she was sweating, Alys, she was giving her all out there, regardless if everything is a lie or not.”

“That’s her business… not mine… I don’t want to be part of it, I have come this far on my own, not by having all paths being unlocked for free, but by clearing those paths by myself, I want to be true to myself, even if it means it’ll take me longer than others, I want to be loyal to my art.”

“But Alys, in this world, art is influenced by money, is not something you can run away from, I’d like to tell you what you’re doing is great, but I’ve known this kind of stuff for enough time to know you may regret this decision.”

“Are you… really telling me I should be part of that lie?”

“Yes.”

“…”

“You know? This summer I visited Los Angeles in America, I hadn’t intentions to visit such a crowded and scandalous place but I was invited by a friend of mine for a tourist trip, and I couldn’t reject the offer. My friend is a teacher who gives lessons in the medium of voice acting, he’s a great voice actor, and has a lot of jobs and is well known for his success. While on my visit, he took me to his place of work because he had to impart a class, it was the very first class for his students, they were all new and young in that place, and do you know what he told them, as the first speech from a teacher towards their students?

He said, and I quote:  _ Many of you have worked really hard to reach this point, many of you have talent, and many of you have incredible voice acting skills, then many others have exhausted themselves to the point of a blackout to stand here in this class, of this agency. But the truth is, regardless if you can make tens of different voices, or if you can speak many different languages, even if you have a particular, distinctive way of speaking, none of it matters. Most of you will not make it, and the little, tiny amount of the students today present here who may be able to become someone, will not be because of their hard work or skills, it’ll most likely be by a stroke of luck. _

So that is what my friend told their students, and you know? I think he’s right, and that’s exactly why I believe you’re missing what would probably be your greatest chance, what could probably be your only chance to become someone. I don’t know you, Alys, I don’t have any idea of your ambitions or dreams, but don’t let this chance pass by, even if it’s a lie, because you may not have any other opportunity like this again.”

With her mouth still stuffed in creamy cheese, the woman froze for a long minute, talking, munching, moving, even breathing, she just froze. After such a long minute, she exhaled, slowly swallowed the content inside her mouth, took a sip of her coffee, and rested her back against the chair with a sigh.

“It would be really bad if that’s the first and last chance I will ever get, wouldn’t it…? And… On top of everything, now I can’t convince myself that something else may come in the future… I guess this is how the world of adults is supposed to be…? It sucks, it sucks a lot.”

“It really does.”

“Does this means you became a writer because of a stroke of luck too?”

“Something along those lines, yes, not because of my skills, not because of the stories I was able to write, but because of a fortunate coincidence.”

“And doesn’t that make you mad?”

“I would be madder if I still were writing novels in my office, unknown of when any Editor would be interested in publishing them, just like you’ll be if you don’t take this chance and continue playing songs for tips, trying to get a living in the frozen streets.”

“You know, at this point, I can’t tell if you’re scolding me or giving me advice.”

“Maybe a little bit of the two, hehe.”

“Hah…

Is really a world like this worth saving?”

“Do you still wonder something like that?”

“Have we ever touched a part in that conversation which convinces me wrong of this thought?”

“Very well then… Alys, are you free today?”

“I’m eating the leftover cheese of a stranger I just met, do you need to ask?”

“Then would you like to make a little sightseeing?”

“Where to?”

“Space.”


	4. III

“So you are not going to hide it at all uh?”

Alys asked with a sneer on the corners of her mouth, with arms crossed and a baffled expression. Sento had taken her to the outs of Cardiff, and at the shore of a small river in the wilds of the city, he pressed a button on his phone, and an oval, blue object the size of a house materialized from thin air. It was perfectly round and shiny as if anything could slip if you touched the surface.

“But don’t think touching it, is an old model, sometimes can give little sparks.”

He said as if reading her thoughts. Walking down the path to the shore of the river, a circular piece of the oval detached and floated over the floor, Sento was the first to climb the strange metallic plate suspended in the air; then helped the woman with a hand to get over it. They were slowly lifted in the air and carried inside the ship. The moment the circular piece went back to place, they sank into darkness as the insides were pitch black, it was cold and silent, and nor left or right could be distinguished.

“Oh God, this is where you’ll put me over a strange chair and proceed to make weird experiments with me won’t you?”

“Hey, that’s racist.”

The alien replied with anger in his tone; then artificial light was switched on after those words. The insides of the structure were completely empty, nothing but a huge white room, thirty feet wide and fifty feet tall, entirely blank. The walls looked as if they were furnished with white leather, and the lights of the ceiling couldn’t let the woman analyze what was exactly over her head.

“So where’s the… steer wheel of this thing? Do you also use your phone for it?” She questioned in a mix of excitement and fear on her voice, as Sento walked to the left, taking off his jacket and fleece hat, sitting on the floor, turning back to her and patting the blank space next to him, “Is that where the controls are?”

“No, the phone just works to open and close the door, this doesn’t have anything like that, the only control I need is right here,” He suggested with a smile, poking his head with the index, “Now sit here, the first time is always a bit scary.”

“…You mean of space travel, right?”

“Right…”

She followed through and sat beside her with crossed legs, leaving her guitar case in between. From the inside out, starting from the point they were sitting, the white of the walls and the floor began to fade away, like a stain of oil inking and spreading around the thin wrap of a paper bag, turning translucent and see-through, giving the impression they were floating in the air, the ship buzzed and vibrated with the sound of a tiny air engine, and elevated meters in the air, increasing its speed. 

“Alright… oh, alright…” The woman stuttered trying to cover her fear and vertigo, tightly holding on to the shoulder of Sento with the left hand, observing how from below her legs, they were abandoning air space at an incredible speed. In the absolute silence inside the machine, the sensation of her ears popping was anything but normal, surpassing all heights she had met before, higher than any skyscraper, higher than what the usual plane would reach, high enough for the day to gradually become into the night, higher than any commercial satellite, the ship has reached the limits of Earth exosphere. Alys has been left speechless, in a matter of minutes, Cardiff and Wales and the UK were but points of dirt; it was her first look of the planet from above, her hands resting on the transparent floor, with a childish huge smile nobody could take away from her face. It was like time had stopped, as every thought and every worry she was holding suddenly had disappeared, Sento stood and without interrupting that magical moment with his voice he extended his hand, helping the woman to get up on her legs and walk slowly around the floor of the ship. “This is… This is so… I never thought Europe would be this small…” She sighed with an uncontrollable chuckle, observing the light of the continent below her feet, “Is exactly like in the movies… but it feels so much better, must be nice, being able to have this view every day,” Alys implies with a pout, turning to Sento a bit composed.

“Meh, it gets boring after the first hundreds of years,” He replied with a shrug and disinterest, shoving his hands inside the pockets on his pants and walking contrary to the direction of Alys inside the ship, “But, sometimes I come this high when I need to clear my thoughts about something, it helps me to remember how many people are out there in this world…” He explains with melancholy in his tone.

“I guess nobody would ever realize how many people exist besides what you can see unless they face something as direct as this…” She said with a gasp still lost in the impression, “Hey, erm, can you do that thing that makes the astronauts float?”

“You mean removing the artificial gravity? Sure, but don’t spin in the air too much, remember you’re stuffed with cheese,” He said with concern, closed his eyes, and two seconds later, his jacket and hat and Alys’ guitar began to float away from the floor, just like his body and Alys’.

“Oh… oh! Oh my God!” The woman laughed in embarrassment trying to keep balance as her body involuntarily raised a couple of meters away from the floor.

“Think of it as if you were thrown on the deep side of a pool, take a long breath, stretch your arms, and try to don’t struggle so much,” Sento explained and gestured his example for her to follow, gently swinging his arms on the air.

“This is so cool… this is so cool!” Alys grinned happily.

"What about a little music?" He suggests closing his eyes again, and a chord of trumpets began to gently play around the entire transparent space.

"Music? Wait, is that the song that appears in the movies when the monkeys begin to think? You sure are old."

"How about this one?" Sento asked with a sweep of his finger and a new track appeared.

"Frank Sinatra? Who are you, a broken hearted husband trying to regain his wife?"

"C'mon! _'Fly Me to The Moon'_ is a classic! Ok, what about this?"

"Now David Bowie... Just take out the music, you're ruining the mood."

"Alright... Say, Alys...

Can you hear it?”

“Hear, hear what?”

“The voices of the billions of people living on this planet.”

“Of course not! Wait… can you? Can this ship do something like that?”

“Of course not, it was a literal question; you can’t hear their voices nor see what they are doing, but those thousands of millions of lights in the continents… You can see, prove that there are hundreds of thousands of millions of people besides the ones you see every day in your neighborhood.”

“Is amazing…”

“Those billions of lives are billions of dreams and expectations, and yes may not every one of them hold the best thoughts, but the numbers of people who wish for a better world are greater than the ones who won’t wish for one.”

“You should have brought me here first you know? Then I would have believed your argument faster.”

“Oh, but I didn’t bring you here to convince you of the whole point that this planet needs to be saved, that’s a given for me.”

“Then what is it?”

“It was to make you see your life in contrast to the other eight billion people in this world.”

“Oh…”

“Just think about it, would you? Out of that many people, there are thousands of millions with dreams to become great artists like you, painters, singers, writers, millions who vow their lives to the arts, who follow their dreams and passions, and millions of them are still waiting to be acknowledged, waiting to be recognized. There are people out there just like you, with incredible talent, but who knows when the chance to be known, between other millions of artists on Earth, is going to happen.”

“… Crap… I really am an idiot, aren’t I? Worrying about something so small… I’m just… so small…”

“Everyone is small… everyone from here looks way smaller too… May this chance that has been presented to you not be the one you thought it would be, but you’ll regret not taking it, what you decide doing after that, the effort and investment you’ll put in it, that’s what will matter.”

“Ok, ok, I get it, please stop the praying… God, I can’t believe an alien had to take me to space for me to understand something so simple… how stubborn can I be?”

“Humans are particularly stubborn hehe, but you were doing what you think was correct at the time, there’s no point in being ashamed of it.”

“Thank you, Sento…”

“No needs to, on the contrary, excuse this old alien who made you follow him all the way out to space just to listen to his advice.”

“Well… I guess we can turn back to Cardiff now…”

“Not so fast, yet we still have one thing to do, something I want to demonstrate.”

“And that is…?” 

“We are going to catch Santa Claus red-handed traveling on his sleigh.”

“… God save me, Sento, SANTA CLAUS ISN’T REAL.”

“HE IS, AND I WILL SHOW YOU!”

“URGH, TAKE ME BACK TO CARDIFF YOU CHILDISH ALIEN.”


	5. IV

_ “You’d better watch out!” _

_ “You’d better not cry!” _

_ “Better not pout and I’m telling you why!” _

_ “Santa Claus is coming… to town!” _

“You know? I never realized how scary this song is without context until today.”

“HAHAHA.”

“And then is something like  _ ‘he sees when you’re sleeping’ _ right? How can Earthlings teach these kinds of songs to their kids? It’s amazing.”

“Enough please; I’m going to lose my breath…”

It was far past the evening by the time the space ship had come back and land again over the small river in Cardiff. They walked their way back into the city, chatting nonsense with a friendlier mood until the alien proceeds to walk an imaginary line on the pavement. With the night quickly setting behind their backs and the temperature dropping faster each minute, they stopped on the silly games and idly conversations after being covered with snow, hurrying to find the house of the woman.

Leaving the city, walking past the closed stores, chasing the other on the street over fruitless discussions about the existence of a certain fat man with a red suit, Alys and Sento cross over a certain avenue and access inside a parade of houses wearing Christmas decorations of the upper class.

Multiple incandescent and small lights of colors on the fences, the gardens, and the roofs of houses with blue, green, red, yellow, and white to depict the images representative of the holidays. They took a stroll around, slowing on the original pace they were carrying just for the alien to take pictures of the installations with his phone.

“So, which one of these is your house?” Sento asks without looking at her, holding his phone horizontally with both hands, spamming the button of the shutter to capture the multiple decorations.

“Just a bit more, we live almost at the end of the neighborhood…” She explained with doubt and shame then stopped her walk to turn back to the alien, “Hey… wait, stop, stop!” Alys yells agitated as they almost crash due to the alien once again not paying attention to his surroundings. Pushing him away with both hands, she groans loudly, then takes off her guitar case and opens it to bring a yellow bottle with a red ribbon on it, “Here… Is Christmas Eve so, a present.”

“Ohoho?” Sento gasped impressed by her gesture and at the speed of light, he saved his phone and ran to pick up the bottle from the hands of the flustered woman, “When did you buy me this… And what is this, even?” The alien asks in honest confusion, inspecting the inscriptions of the gift with the shape of a shampoo bottle “Is this… sunscreen?”

She nodded redder, “Max factor protection… I bought it at a pharmacy when you asked for a moment to make a call remember? It should help you with the whole problem of your gray skin.”

“I see, that’s how it is! Thank you, Alys, dang, this definitely should help, I never thought about this before, why I never thought about it? This is genius, simply genius, thank you,” He blissfully swung the bottle in the air with a smile, attempted to hug the girl, and got pushed away again, “Ouchie… very well, let’s go to your place, I have a present waiting for you.”

“For me at my house? Wait, is that the call you were doing? How did you know where I live, who did you, call?” Alys asks now switching gears from embarrassed and happy to concern and worries, “Please I hope you haven’t done something stupid.” She said then turn back to look at the other side of the neighborhood, stared back at the alien, and renewed her walk with hurry on her steps, “Please I beg you don’t do something stupid.”

“Wait, Alys, you’re worrying too much, I’m not the type who likes to run, wait!” Sento shouts while chasing her, but the woman wasn’t listening to him.

They ran over the frozen sidewalk with their exasperated breaths taking shape in the air. And after passing by four houses, Alys pulled on the breaks in front of the last fence at the bottom of the neighborhood, where a girl wearing a short Santa dress under a jacket was brushing her shoulders in frustration of the cold; then smiled with relief when looking at the woman of brown hair, “Sister!”

“… Stepsister,” Taking a pause to breathe first, Alys retorts with a groan.

“W-why do you… have to be so awkward…?” Sento gasps catching up to the woman, then giving her a soft smack behind the head, “That’s… not what you were going to tell her, isn’t it?”

“Oh don’t worry, she always does that when I call her  _ ‘sis’  _ or when dad calls her  _ ‘daughter’ _ ,” Sara interrupted the nagging approaching the two and waving her hand, stared deeply at Alys with a smile, then handed her a transpired bag with red cloth inside, “I heard from him you wanted to join me tomorrow, but if you’re going to do it, you need to use our uniform.”

“… Do I really have to?” Alys pouts taking a step back, shaking her head, “Please no, I can go along with the lie and all, but please don’t make me dress like a…” She stuttered, looking at Sara frowning back at the implication, “I mean, just no.”

“Don’t be like that; you’ll look great on it!” The blonde one insists on pushing the outfit into Alys’ hands.

“Sara… do you not mind this? That our dad is meddling in what we want to do, what we want to be?”

“Sis of course I do, but you know how dad is, he’s always absent, so he’s always overcompensating, and let’s be honest, even if he hadn’t done it, we would have won the contest by a landslide.”

“You have always had that indomitable attitude, so full of yourself…”

“Says the one who has spent the last days getting money for the charity on her own...

… Why are we fighting for even, can’t you just wear the dress and join me tomorrow?”

“I want... I really want to... It's just that it feels easier to fight, I don't want to apologize over this."

"But you don't have to apologize for it, you did what you thought it was right."

"I still feel I should do something to make up for it."

Sento coughed over his hand and interrupted the ambiguous fight the two were having, then pulled a Christmas cracker with a snicker and handed it to Sara, "What if you end that discussion with this?"

"Oh...! Is that?!" Sara took off her hand with a huge smile, "It is! Oh my God, Alys is a Christmas cracker, when was the last time we pulled one of these?"

"We probably were like nine years old or so, how can you still get so excited about it? You're so childish."

"C'mon Alys open it with me, pretty please? If you do it then we'll be even!"

"I only have to do that...?"

The women took on each extreme of the paper stick and firmly held on it, then with a girly, agitated, and sudden - _Hey!_ \- They pulled from each side, the cracker immediately exploding in a little bomb of confetti which spread on the floor, Sara kneeling to take on the biggest piece of paper, "Here it is... let's see..." She took the piece and flipped it to the other side, reading a small text written in it, "What... What does... My Lord, I haven't even finish, and I'm already laughing from how bad is it..." The woman snorts uncontrollably, takes the paper with both hands, and attempts to continue, _"What does Santa call his blind reindeer?"_

Alys took a deep breath and shook her head, trying not to fall on the same predicament of her sister, "I... I have... I have _no-eye-deer_..." She quickly covered her mouth, the two trying her best to don't let their laughter escape to the joke.

"Interesting, fascinating, these things are great," Sento whispered looking at the rest of the crackers on the gift bag, then shove the strap of the bag inside his hand and loudly clapped his hands to obtain their attention, "It was a great day, but I have to go, I don't want to interrupt you girls Christmas dinner, hope you two can make the most of the charity money this year around!" The alien walked two steps in reverse, then tapped the screen on his phone, a minute later a familiar long blue plate had flown into the neighborhood and landed close to his feet, walking over it and slowly being taken a float, "Have a merry Christmas! And a wonderful new year!"

"Did... did that man just... in the air?" Sara asked pointing at the blue plate disappearing on the distance, jaw dropped.

"Yup, he did," Alys replied with an exhausted chuckle.

"And... where is he going?"

"I'm not entirely sure but... I think he's going to keep look for Santa Claus..."

"... Eh?"


End file.
